I Understand
by Monkey D. Anea
Summary: People (almost) never understand why Law has death inked on his knuckles. And it would have stayed this way if his straw hat wearing ally didn't decide to grow a brain and invade his personal space.


People almost never understand why Law has death inked on his knuckles. Some do, the older scarred people who can see enough in his eyes to know, they grimace and shake their heads quietly at another lost cause.

He's the Surgeon of Death, so they're theories on the matter, but no one really knows for sure the meaning of those simple five letters other than the naturally meaning.

It's more interesting to have bizarre theories than truth. Law knows this, and he doesn't care, let the people have their own beliefs and more publicity will follow.

They couldn't even grasp the meaning of freedom, so why should he care what they think? He's also not foolish on the matter that freedom differs in each person the same as death does.

Law settled on the belief that no one could understand his meaning of death, so he laid back and smirked tauntingly with his nodachi heavy against his shoulder, amused by the many guesses and - _'scandalous'_ as the nobles call it- theories while staring down the few who may partially understand, daring them to speak up. None ever do.

It would have stayed this way until one day the dangerous lunatic known as Straw Hat Luffy stopped in his tracks and planted himself in front of Law and his space, ignoring the glare and warning of dismemberment.

This is the day everything fell into place and Law started believing in the all seeing eyes of this fool wearing a straw hat who lacks common sense, instead favoring irrationality and having this extreme need to plunge balls deep into danger with an crazed grin and a smile that shines in any awful situation or circumstance. In these instances, Law's reminded of raw screams of anguish and adds silently, Straw Hat can smile in _almost_ , any awful situation or circumstance.

"Straw Hat, re-" the straw hat wearing teen doesn't say anything, only grabs Law's hand and looks at the tattooed knuckles with his eyebrows knit together and that confused, yet curious, light shining in his dark eyes.

Law stares briefly in shock before grasping the situation and yanking his hand away with a glare, vehemently wishing that he stayed in the library.

Risking 'Demon Child' Nico Robin's questioning is starting to look more appealing than clumsy hands and prodding eyes. It's practically the same thing, except that at least Nico-ya would offer a more enlightening conversation.

"Straw Hat-, I suggest that you-"

"I understand." Law freezes, the air knocked from his lungs before he scowls, preparing to speak until the teen cuts him off again and points to his hands. "The tattoos on your fingers, I understand" Luffy says simply, and looks at him with wide, unblinking eyes which frankly unnerve the dark surgeon.

Law leans back against the railing desperate for some space away from the owlish teenager who continues to stare despite the glare directed at him. "I don't know what you think you understand, Straw Hat, and I don't care to know. Now, refrain from touching me." Law bites out coldly with a frown marring his face, fingers clutching his nodachi which has no effect on the younger male who blinks back undeterred. His frown deepens, and the urge to disassemble a certain straw hat wearing teen grows increasingly.

Usopp mutters in the background about _'I knew that this alliance was a bad idea!'_ while Brook laughs, muttering about _'young love'_ and Law swears he will kill that skeleton before this alliance is over, if he can even get out of it, which doesn't seem likely.

He's starting to believe that he'll never get out of this alliance, because he's apparently made a deal with a devil, not even death himself can get him out of this one.

"It means you hold life and death in your hands, right?" Law stares wide eyed at the teen whose head is cocked to the side, with a grin showing his teeth, and his palms up in front of him. The tattooed male ignores his heart which is caught in his throat at the moment.

"That you're a doctor, and if you really wanted to, you could end a life instead of saving it!" Luffy says before quickly adding "but you're a good guy, Torao!" and he laughs that strange laughter, leaving Law gaping and heart ever present in his throat.

Luffy continues after seeing Law's expression, the laughter still twinkling in his eyes, before it fades to a small smile. "It's like you're the hands of death, and I sorta think you are." Law stares as the teen hurries to explain himself like the situation before, "Not that that's bad though! Makino told me that doctors are like.. angels of death?" he looks to Law for reaffirmation while rubbing the back of his neck, to which Law weakly nods, eyes squinted and waiting for the rest.

"It shows how easy someone can die." Luffy says cheerfully, eyes closed and his infamous smile on full display as the deck is left in silence. Law doesn't realize this as dark brown eyes open and meet his own, colder, shocked ones.

The teens lips die down to a grin, "Isn't that right, Torao?" Law doesn't dignified it with a response, instead he swallows and furrows his brows, lips turned down while staring back in a strange mixture of confusion and disbelief at the teen who seems calmer then usual.

Luffy smiles slightly and looks toward the sky, eyes gleaming as he speaks. "People might not always understand, Torao, but don't be mad if they try!" his eyes look downward toward Law before he cracks a grin and laughs, Law doesn't know whether to stare at the teen, dismember the teen, or to punch the teen for telling him what to do, the last option and the second one seems to be the best.

Law stares as the other hums and looks back at him, dark eyes laughing as he rocks on his heels and says: "I think that tattoos for a person too!" and Luffy's smiling again and the urge to dismember him and swear at him are mingling, so instead Law settles for scowling at the smiling face.

Luffy smiles in response to the dark surgeon whose clutching his nodachi, eyes closed and turned away from all seeing ones, a small almost unnoticeable grin now riding up the corners of his lips. Laughter fills the deck, returning it to normal as Law tries to hide a grin back.

(It's more like a smile than anything else.)

Usopp's jaw drops at the sight of their creepily dark ally almost cracking a smile at his idiotic captain, but he reasons that it's Luffy, which still doesn't ease the strangeness of this situation.

So like everything dangerous and strange (Luffy included), Usopp scurries away from the sight murmuring _: 'I didn't see anything, it was a trick of the sun'_ leaving Zoro to raise a brow at the sight of the scarred sniper acting more skittish than usual, and Robin to smile mysteriously while all carries on.

The Straw Hat Pirates are an insane asylum meets crazy town with delusion as the mayor and Luffy as the king, plus the sorta insane Law to trail behind at their strange pace.

At least, Law reasons with a sigh, that they're not all gossiping fools who go for scandal, they're fools who go for cold, honest truth (the navigators an exception of sorts). But being understood is more frightening than gossip. Looking at his fellow captain, now busy trying to con the chef out of more food, Law thinks that truth isn't the worst thing possible on this ship, and he isn't smiling under his hat! It's just like the sniper said, it's a trick of the sun.

(Everyone thinks Law's worthy of gossip, they should meet the Straw Hats'.)

They're the walking, breathing, bizarre theories and the exact meaning of scandalous, especially that damn skeleton.


End file.
